Demolition work at elementary school to continue into next week

Thursday

CARVER – It’s hard to fight the urge to get closer, but it’s safety first as the Erwin K. Washburn and Governor John Carver elementary school buildings are methodically demolished.

Teachers at the site Tuesday say there’s a sense of excitement as the old buildings fall to the ground, but there are also sad eyes watching the progress as history falls.

Demolition work started Monday and will continue into early next week. The plan was originally to demolish the Governor John Carver first, but then plans changed. The Washburn building out back would be demolished first instead.

Construction schedules can be fluid, although the weather was on their side to start the week, Chief Operations and Finance Officer Brad Brothers said Tuesday afternoon.

A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Carver Elementary School building has been scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, with speeches, student activities, tours, music and food.

The exact location of the time capsule buried outside the Washburn building was still to be determined when demolition started, with more excavation work needing to be done to safely unearth it.

The Governor John Carver building opened as an elementary school in 1951, while the Erwin K. Washburn primary school building opened in 1975.